Wednesday, November 1 (9 am – 5 pm, US Eastern Time)

ICT Accessibility Testing Focus

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8:00 Registration open

• Coffee & Tea

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9:00 - 9:15 Introductory Remarks

• Chris M. Law, Symposium Chair & Andrew Nielson, Symposium Co-Chair

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9:15 - 10:00
Keynote Address: Karl Groves

Karl Groves,
Chief Innovation Officer, Level Access

Karl's Bio

5-10-20

"What can we do today so that we're not doing the same thing in 20 years?" is an important question in digital accessibility. For those of us who've been in the game that long, we were saying the same thing in 2003 as we are today. For people involved in access to built environments, they've been saying the same things for generations.  The digital world is changing at breakneck speed. What will the next 5 years look like? What will the next 10 years look like? What will we do today to improve digital access 20 years from now?

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10:00 - 10:30 Morning Break

• Coffee & Tea, Snacks, kindly sponsored by

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10:30 - 12:00 The Robot Elephant in the Room: Artificial Intelligence and ICT Accessibility Testing

• All AI is Human: Navigating the threats and opportunities of Artificial Intelligence, (Long Paper, 30 minutes), Claudio Luís Vera, UX Design Leader and Organizer
  
• Accessibility Testing with AI: Implications for Future Practice, (Long Paper, 30 minutes), Sam Kanta, The Sustainable Change LLC
• Accessibility and the 3 Bears of AI, (Long Paper, 30 minutes), Glenda Sims, Deque

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12:00 - 1:00 Lunch Break

• Lunch is included for in-person attendees

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1:00 - 2:30 Refining ICT Accessibility Testing

• Section 508 ICT Testing Baseline Portfolio, (Long Paper, 30 minutes), Andrew Nielson & Kristen Smith-O’Connor, General Service Administration & Katherine Eng, U.S. Access Board
• W3C ACT Rules – Towards More Consistent Accessibility Conformance Testing, (Long Paper, 30 minutes), Trevor Bostic, Mitre & Katherine Eng, U.S. Access Board
• The Joy of WCAG 2.2 Testing, (Long Paper, 30 minutes), John Northup, WebAIM

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2:30 - 3:15 Afternoon Break with the Keynote

• An extended break features time to get to know the Keynote, Karl Groves (Short Interview by Andrew Nielson, and Audience Q&A)

• Coffee & Tea, Snacks, kindly sponsored by

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3:15 - 4:45 Testing Questions

• What time does the sun rise? Filtering complexity when designing simple accessibility standards, (Short Talk. 15 minutes), Chris Law, Standard Accessibility Reporting, Inc.
• Caveat Emptor: Testing Vended Products Before Purchase, (Panel Discussion, 75 minutes)
  • Annie Heckel, Cornell University (Moderator)
  • Tiffany Stull, University of Virginia
  • Erin Kirchner-Lucas, Microsoft
  • Karl Groves, Level Access
  • Chris Law, Standard Accessibility Reporting, Inc.

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4:45 - 5:00 Day 1 Closing Thoughts

• Andrew Nielson, Symposium Co-Chair & Sam Kanta, Program Chair

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Evening Happy Hour (after 5 pm)

Thursday, November 2 (9 am – 4:15 pm, US Eastern Time)

Program Management Focus

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8:30 Arrival

• Coffee & Tea

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9:00 - 9:15 Day 2 Introductory Remarks

• Chris M. Law, Symposium Chair & Sam Kanta, Program Chair

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9:15 - 10:00
Keynote Address: Jared Smith

Jared Smith,
Associate Director, WebAIM (Utah State University)

Jared's Bio

Accessibility Testing: The Backbone of Digital Inclusion Efforts

Whether you are identifying accessibility issues to be remediated, considering professional development and training opportunities for staff, establishing a baseline of accessibility upon which to measure future progress, considering third-party products for procurement, or responding to end user concerns and complaints, much of digital inclusion is grounded in accessibility testing. This presentation will provide technical and systematic ideas for establishing and refining testing processes and programs to better support inclusion for individuals with disabilities.

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10:00 - 10:30 Morning Break

• Coffee & Tea, Snacks, kindly sponsored by

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10:30 - 12:15 Assessment and Reporting

• Revolutionizing Accessibility Conformance Reports with OpenACRs, (Long Paper, 30 minutes), Andrew Nielson & Alex Wilson, General Services Administration

• Developing Government-wide Annual Assessment Criteria for Federal Agency Conformance with Section 508, (Panel Discussion, 75 minutes)
  • Kristen Smith-O'Connor, General Service Administration (Moderator)
    
  • Michael Horton, General Services Administration
  • Katherine Eng, U.S. Access Board
  • Alex Wilson, General Services Administration

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12:15 - 1:30 Lunch Break with the Keynote

• An extended lunch break features time to get to know the Keynote, Jared Smith (Short Interview by Chris Law, and Audience Q&A)
• Lunch is included for in-person attendees

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1:30 - 2:00 Language and Multiculturalism

• Multicultural Web Accessibility: Building and Testing Inclusive Digital Experiences, (Long Paper, 30 minutes), Lisa Mayo & Adam Ungson, ICF Next

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2:00 - 2:20 Annual Awards Ceremony

• Social Impact Award.
  • The Social Impact Award is kindly Sponsored and Presented by
    
• Best Presentation Award
  • Presented by Steve Mendez, Redshelf
    
• Best Paper Award
  • The Best Paper Award is presented this year in Memoriam of Alan King (1961-2023)
    
  • Read Alan's Best Paper Award winner in the 2022 Proceedings.
  • Presented by Cindy Ryan, Vice President, New Editions Consulting, Inc.
    

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2:20 - 2:45 Afternoon Break

• Coffee & Tea, Snacks, kindly sponsored by

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2:45 - 4:00 The Biological Elephant in the Room: Human Impacts of ICT Accessibility Testing

• Our past and our future: The human impact on accessibility testing, the legal landscape, and people with disabilities, (Closing Panel Discussion, 75 minutes)
  • Claudio Luís Vera, UX Design Leader and Organizer (Moderator)
    
  • Glenda Sims, Chief Information Accessibility Officer, Deque Systems, Inc.
  • Jared Smith, Associate Director, WebAIM (Utah State University)
  • Sam Kanta, The Sustainable Change, LLC

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4:00 - 4:15 Closing Remarks

• Andrew Nielson, Symposium Co-Chair & Sam Kanta, Program Chair

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Evening Happy Hour (after 4:30 pm)

 

Friday, November 3 (9 am – 4:00 pm, US Eastern Time)

Post-Conference Courses
(In-Person Presentation and Attendance Only)

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Notes for optional add-on course or workshop:

• The course and workshop run concurrently (can choose to attend either one)
• 6 hours plus breaks (four 90 minute sessions, two 15 minute breaks and a 30 minute lunch break)
• Coffee/Tea on arrival and at breaks, snacks and lunch provided
• Course materials as provided by instructors
• Can register for the course without registering for the symposium (fee differs)
• We may offer an online version of the courses / workshops in December if there are expressions of interest (indicate interest during registration, or email the event organizers later.)

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Multi-Tool Web Accessibility Testing with Standardized Reporting (Course)

Jonathan Pool, CVS Health

Do you want to automate some of your web accessibility testing? This course teaches you how to leverage multiple tools at once for the most comprehensive and economical defect discovery. Mutli-Tool Testing Course Information (Read More...)

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AI and the Future of Human Accessibility Testing (Workshop)

Erin Kirchner-Lucas, Microsoft

Claudio Luís Vera, UX Design Leader and Organizer

The ethical use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in accessibility testing is a complex and evolving issue that requires careful consideration and collaboration among various stakeholders, such as developers, testers, users, regulators, and advocates. Together, we will look to shape the future of human accessibility testing in the age of AI. This collaborative workshop will be a design thinking style exercise to brainstorm ideas, challenges, strategies for accessibility testing in the age of AI. AI Workshop (Read More...)

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December 2023 and/or January 2024

Post-Conference Online Course
Program Maturity Assessments for Accessibility Teams

Sam Kanta, The Sustainable Change LLC

Chris M. Law, Accessibility Track Consulting, LLC

The online course is designed to provide accessibility practitioners with a grounded understanding of techniques for assessing program maturity. The course is arranged into seven topics... Maturity Assessments Course Information (Read More...)

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Register to attend ICT 2023

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